


Heaven and Hell

by AtheneNoctua



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: 11th Gen (Hitman Reborn) - Freeform, Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, Because you know the internet is for porn, F/F, F/M, Gen, I love my baby characters, I swear this isn't porn, Light Angst, M/M, Not really much sexual actually, Perhaps some implied, Romance, Some Humor, Varia 11th Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 03:53:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7829461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtheneNoctua/pseuds/AtheneNoctua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a story based on characters from my other fanfic, but also a huge focus on the 11th Generation of the Vongola.  I present a question to you with this:  What if there were rings made to counteract the Hell rings?  Well, strap in and be prepared to meet the 11th gen and their boss, Amaya.  Plus, new Varia, new friends, new threats, and a little something else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What Task?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction to the world of the 11th Gen family and the conflict to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters you will want to know through the beginning of this work can be found here:  
> https://charahub.com/user/AtheneNoctua
> 
> I would check the 11th Gen Vongola and Varia characters. (Other characters may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk!) All Present Time (with Tsuna's 10th Gen) may also be good. The site provides some pictures and brief information. You can always message me or ask me questions at khraddict on Tumblr.

**Chapter 1**

‘ _Shoes?  Check.  Ring?  Check.  Crossbow?  Check.  Bolts…?_ ’

Alathea looked around.  Her brown eyes scanned the room rapidly.  She was meeting Arveria for training in a few minutes and was going to be late.  A curse exited her mouth as she rummaged under her bed.  They had to be around somewhere.

“Where are you, damn it!”

A month here with the Vongola and she was still unorganized.  A silver gleam in the back caught her attention. 

“There you are!”

Flattening onto her stomach, she stretched under the bed.  Of course, first day in she had pushed her bed completely against the wall and now her bolts were stuck back there.  Her fingertips grazed them.

“A little further,” she muttered as she pressed forward.  “A-ha!”

Grabbing the hilt she pulled back.

“Ow!!”  Her other hand rubbed the back of her head where it had hit the bed frame.  She glared at the bolts.  “You’ve caused me enough trouble.  Let’s go.”

**10:58**

“Shit.”  Yep.  Today she’d be running late again.

Alathea took off and sprinted down the hall.  She avoided running into the other Vongola members.  Her feet were already slightly sore by the time she’d opened the training room door.

“I made it,” she panted out.  Brown hair clung to her forehead that was now covered in a slight sweat. 

“I was just about to get back to my other work,” Arveria commented.  Standing up, the woman wiped her hands on her jeans before removing the black jacket that revealed winding tattoos down each arm.  “You’re not the only one I’m training, after all.”

Her heels tapped on the concrete floor as she approached Alathea.  “I hope you’re not too tired.  You ran here?”

Alathea straightened up as Arveria’s toes rapped against the back of her knees.  “Yes, sir.”

“Let’s see how you do after that warm up, then.”  A slight smirk played on Arveria’s face.  “No use wasting time.  I’ll time you on the new course and we’ll move straight into targets and sparring.”

Alathea hid her surprise.  This was not how their routine normally went.  “Which one are we on?”

“Which course?”  Arveria motioned briefly for Alathea to follow.  “This is an outdoor one.  You’ve had enough of the indoor ones.”

Following her out, Alathea couldn’t help but smile.  She held a deep respect for Arveria.  From the very beginning she had been proud that she was her mother.  Not that Alathea could mention that.  Arveria had no idea as to Alathea’s identity and telling her would ruin everything.

They stopped on the edge of the woods behind the headquarters.   The trees grew tall and continued one past the edge of the Vongola’s property.

“This is your course,” Arveria said with a bow and gesture towards the small trail leading in.

“Where is it?”  The trail was the only thing that could be seen.

“Inside.”

“Inside _there_?”

“Inside there.”  Arveria leaned against a tree by the entrance.  “You will have only one try and fifteen minutes to complete your task.”

Arveria whistled a soft tune as she looked at the entrance.  The breeze rustled some of the lower hanging branches, but she didn’t seem to notice the leaves brushing her hair.  Alathea waited patiently for more directions.

After a minute of sweating in what was beginning to feel a sweltering heat, Alathea had to say something.  “What’s my task?”

“Task?”  The whistling stopped as Arveria’s blue eyes turned to look over Alathea.  “It’s simple.  Catch me a squirrel.”

“A squirrel?!”  The exclamation came without a thought.  “I’m supposed to catch a squirrel?”

“Hmmm, you’re right.  Catch me a squirrel and one sparrow.  Do this in fifteen minutes.  And those fifteen minutes start…now.”

Alathea’s jaw snapped shut as she sucked in a breath.  Her temper was at the edge.  This was an impossible task.

“I hope you’re not going to waste your time.”  Arveria’s voice snapped her out of her shock.  “You’ll need all the time.”

Not wasting another second, Alathea sprinted down the path.  The trees were more closely packed than she had anticipated. 

Stopping once she could no longer see the entrance, Alathea took a look around her.  There didn’t seem to be many squirrels in this part of the forest, but there were at least a few songbirds.  The problem was catching one.

Alathea only had what she had carried with her.  None of that would be helpful though. 

A buzzing sound came from behind her and she turned to see what it was.  There wasn’t anything there though.  There wasn’t even a bee. 

With a frown, Alathea looked back up at the trees.  Perhaps there was something useful there that could provide her with a starting point. 

With a leap, Alathea grabbed one of the lower branches.  The bark dug into her skin as she attempted to pull herself up.  Her feet scrambled against the tree bark, but to no avail.  The air was knocked out of her lungs as she fell on her back. 

“Ok.  So a month of training with crossbow still left me with zero upper body strength.  No problem.  No big deal.  Shake it off.” 

Backing up, Alathea took a running leap and used the momentum to swing her legs onto the branch.  Allowing herself a grin, she climbed onto the branch. 

All the noise and motion of getting up there had scared the birds away.  Shrugging it off, she looked around.  There still didn’t seem to be anything useful. 

Carefully she climbed her way through some more branches.  Glancing back she noticed what seemed to be a web.  A very large web. 

A smile came to her face as she made her way to the branch.  This could work.  The problem was cutting the branch.

Her fingers tapped against the wood as she thought.  She hadn’t grabbed a knife before leaving even though Krystal had urged her to keep one on her at all times.

Suddenly grabbing a bolt, she started using the head in an attempt to cut it off.  It wasn’t that thick of a branch.  After a few minutes of sawing away, Alathea sat back in exasperation.  It had only cut about halfway through. 

“Come on!” She brought her heel down hard on the branch in her annoyance.  A gasp escaped her as the branch collapsed and broke off.  Gripping hard to the trunk, she looked down.  The branch and web were now laying on the ground.

“Well…that worked.”

Her stomach turned slightly as she continued her gaze downwards.  Climbing up, she hadn’t fully realized her far down the ground was.  Or more precisely, that she’d have to figure out a way to get down.


	2. Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is there a giant frog???

**Chapter 2**

Shuffling down the trunk, Alathea tried not to think about how far away the ground was.  A sigh escaped her as she stumbled off. 

Picking up the stick gingerly, she decided to head deeper into the forest.  Perhaps the birds had headed there.  The leaves and sticks under her feet couldn’t be silenced and made a soft crunching.  Every so often she could hear rustling further in to the forest.

‘ _Oh, I wish I could use my illusions…_ ’ 

But Arveria had banned her use of them from any training outside of sparring and specific illusion training.  This task would have been complete by now if she was able to use them. 

**_Croak_ **

Alathea about jumped out of her skin and a small scream escaped her lips.  The sound was almost as loud as a gunshot.  Whirling in the direction of the sound she found herself staring into the face of a frog that was as big as she was.

‘ _This has got to be an illusion.   This is just an illusion.  This is just-_ ‘

**_Fwap_ **

The frog’s tongue quickly pulled her branch out of her hand and into its mouth.  One gulp and it was gone. 

“Oh.  No.”

Alathea took off down the trail again.  She swore she could feel the ground shake as it followed behind her.  It had taken her one hope of catching a bird.  Taking her crossbow off her back she dodged off the path.  The frog continued passed as she loaded it.  Another idea had come to her mind.

Stepping onto the trail, Alathea waved at the oversized frog.  “Hey!  I’m back here!”

It slowly turned around and started heading towards her again.  Aiming carefully, she shot as the frog’s tongue shot out. 

The bolt lodged in its tongue.  Alathea quickly grabbed the rope attached to the bolt before it could be pulled in.  

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,” she muttered as the rope slowly slid out her hands. 

Grabbing another bolt, she yanked the rope in her direction and tied it to the new bolt.  There was only a few feet of rope between the bolts.

“Now, let me…”  Alathea, without letting go of her end of the bolt, tried to climb onto the amphibian while avoiding its tongue.  “Please.”

Stepping a few steps back, she took a running leap and grabbed used a branch just in front of it to drop on its back.  The slime seemed to soak through her pants as soon as she landed.  Her eyes closed momentarily in disgust at the sticky feeling. 

Pulling the bolt back, she dug her knees into the frog to hold on.  The frog bucked slightly and hopped forward. 

“Woah!  There you go…”  Slowly relaxing the bolt, the frog moved forward.  While it still moved erratically and felt like riding a mechanical horse, she could at least somewhat control it now.

Alathea observed her surroundings quickly.  They were headed back down the trail.  If she could continue to control the frog, she might be able to catch the animals needed with its tongue.

A sharp whistle suddenly cut through the forest.  The frog bucked her off suddenly.  A burning sensation shot through her hands as the rope flew out of her hands.  Alathea spit the dirt out of her mouth and wiped her tongue on the back of her hand.  She looked up in time to see it take off into the woods. 

“Wait!!” Alathea yelled, scrambling to her feet.  “I need those!”

The frog was already gone though. 

Alathea sighed.  That whistle meant her time was over.  And she had failed.  Correction: She had failed miserably.

Brushing the dirt from her clothes and fixing her hair as best as she could, she jogged down the trail.  She wasn’t looking forward to Arveria’s disappointment when she came back empty-handed.

Shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight, Alathea exited the forest.  Arveria was sitting down and had her hummingbird, Calliope, on her knee. 

“You didn’t complete the task,” she commented, not looking up.

“No.  I failed.”  Alathea’s hands fidgeted with the edge of her shirt.

There was a small chuckle from Arveria.  Opening her box, Calliope returned.  Arveria stretched with a yawn before standing up.  “Fail is not the word I would use.  You just didn’t complete the task.”

Alathea’s eyes went wide.  “But-“

“Oi, Arveria.  Am I done?  I got sap all over me.”  A teal haired man walked out of the forest, pulling a twig out of his hat. 

“Thank you, Fran.”  Arveria smiled at him brightly.

“Shishou would have killed me if I didn’t.”

“He wouldn’t have killed you.”

Alathea had to remind herself to close her mouth when she saw him.  She had known Fran once.  He’d been her role model.  She could barely remember the last time she interacted with him now…

“Hmmm….  There’s something strange about this one…”

She was snapped back to reality with Fran’s face inches from her.  While it wasn’t immediately obvious, Fran looked older from last time she’d seen him. 

“What do you mean, Fran?” Arveria sighed.  Her hand rested lightly on her hip.

He poked her nose.  “Is she real?  She looks more like a doll than a human.  This isn’t one of Shishou’s sick jokes, is it?  Her eyes are too big.”

“Fran, I’ve been training her for a month.  She’s good.”  Fran was yanked back by Arveria.  “Don’t frighten the poor girl.  And could you do me a favor real quick and tell Mukuro that I’ll try to be back early tonight.  I’ll take you out for dinner later this week.”

“Like a sugardaddy,” Fran asked. 

There was a slight face palm from Arveria.  “Just give him the message.” 

“Sorry,” Arveria said, turning her attention back to Alathea.  “I had him in there to set up obstacles for you.  I wasn’t even sure if you’d need them.  I’m impressed though.  That test is meant to be impossible.  You’re supposed to fail.  I’ll explain as we walk to the next area.” 

Alathea quickly moved to walk beside her.  “But, why?”

“Why?  I like the illusionists I train to have a good foundation.  Mukuro may prefer to work with illusionists that already show a lot of talent, but I don’t care.  Regardless of level, I want your concentration and creativity to increase.  Without concentration, your illusions will fail at the first hint of trouble or danger.  Without creativity, well….they just won’t be realistic enough or good enough.”

Arveria covered her mouth slightly and her eyes became distant.  “Learning illusions is no different from anything else.  It requires patience and effort.  I refuse to train those that aren’t willing to put that in.  Besides my job, I only train you twice a week to see if you’ll practice on your own.  This test is one designed to weed people out after basic training.”

There was a slight snort as her hand dropped.  “Of course, you wouldn’t believe how many people give up after that.  Others breakdown, though I admire that they don’t give up.  And then there’s some like you who seem to take it in stride.”

“Oh, here we are.”  Arveria opened a gate and let her step through.  “To be honest, if Mukuro were still taking students, he would have tried to take you from me.  He’s drawn to people with extra talent like you or Fran.  After all, he was talented himself.”

Alathea stopped, causing Arveria to almost bump into her.  “Why did he stop?”

Pain flashed in Arveria’s eyes for a second before she looked away.  “There were some family problems at the time that took a toll on him.  Aside from Kotori and Sacaela, he refused to train anyone else.”

“What happened?  Are those your kids?”  A weight seemed to have been dropped in her stomach.

Arveria nodded.  “Please excuse me for not wanting to talk about what happened.  It’s still a sensitive subject.  But, yes.  Kotori now heads the Varia and Sacaela is set to be Undecisima’s Mist Guardian like Mukuro was for Tsuna.  I hope you can meet them.  I think you’d get along.”

“Really?”  Alathea’s expression brightened.  “Will I be able to meet Mukuro too?” 

Alathea startled at the barking laughter that came from Arveria as she bent over clutching her stomach.  “I-I’m sorry…”  She wiped her eyes quickly and slowly stood up.  “Your expression was too perfect.  You might.  It really just depends on how well you do.  Which leads me to your next task: target practice.”

Picking up her crossbow, Alathea smiled.  “Sounds good.”  She was more determined than ever to show her what she was capable of.


	3. Games People Play

**Chapter 3**

“Kotori!”

“Hold on!”  Grabbing his bowl of cereal, Kotori shoved the door open with his shoulder.  A quick shake of his hair flipped back a few messy strands of blue hair from his eyes.  “There’s no need to yell, Antonio.”

“But Marco’s (<https://charahub.com/character/1040629/Marco-Joshima/public/>) on TV,” the black haired man said as he pointed to the screen. 

Kotori took a seat next to him on the couch against the back wall.  “So, he actually landed the interview.”

“What did you expect?” a lighter voice added.  Green eyes turned to stare at them from the table closer to the screen.  “He’s a football* star.”

“It’s still the off-season, though,” Antonio commented. 

“Will you just shut up?”  Kotori looked down at the ginger-haired woman sitting in front of them who spoke.  Shifting her braid over her shoulder and to the front, she glared at him.  “I want to hear this.”

“What?” Antonio asked with a smirk.  “Do you have a crush on him?” 

“Do _you_ have a crush on him?”  Dantelia countered calmly, turning her eyes back to the TV.  “He is very handsome after all.  Perhaps more so than Kotori.”

Antonio gasped and his jaw dropped.  “Me?  Have a crush on _him_?” He clutched his heart.  “My heart has always belonged to Kotori.  After all, who else could compare to me in looks?”

“Do you really mean that,” Kotori asked.  He gently took up Antonio’s hand in his. 

“I always have.”  Antonio’s eyes were large as he looked up at Kotori.  “You are an Adonis.”

“You flatter me.  To compare _me_ to _Adonis_ …  But you look so beautiful that you could have only-“

“Shut up already!!” 

A couple of chakrams just barely missed their heads.  They both turned to see Autunno casually spinning one around her finger.  “Pay attention.”

They let go of each other and relaxed.    As soon as she’d turned away, Kotori put his legs across Antonio’s legs with a quick wink. 

“Today we’d like to welcome Marco Joshima,” said the man on the TV.

A green haired man walked across the stage to the other.  He smiled and waved at the audience before sitting down. 

“Good afternoon, Piero,” he said, shaking the older man’s hand.

“It’s good to have you on.  So, we’ll get right into it.  You had a good season last year and are expected to be one of the upcoming players for the next one.  What first got you interested in football?” 

“I don’t know,” Marco said with a laugh.  “It’s always been a game I’d play with my friends.  It’s how I met my parents.”

“What happened with that,” Piero pressed.

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Marco said, rubbing the back of his neck.  “I hit my dad in the face with the ball.  I don’t know why they adopted me after that!  I guess I really made an impact.”

“You certainly have on us.  From what I’ve heard, you’re very popular with the ladies.”

“Ah.  Now you see-“

There was a crash as a lamp was knocked over in the studio. 

“Wait.  Come back!” a man cried. Suddenly a tortoiseshell cat landed on Marco’s lap.

“Brioso!”  Marco’s face lit up as he pet the cat.  He turned back to the man.  “It’s alright, Giovanni.  I’ve got her.”

“Well, that was exciting,” Piero commented.  “Who is this?”

“This is Brioso.  She’s the only woman in my life right now,” Marco joked.  “Brioso, say hello.”

Brioso ignored him and sat on the chair’s armrest. 

“Hey, Boss!”  Kotori’s attention was drawn away from the TV.

A small woman was racing across the room towards him.  Her short black hair bounced slightly with the motion.  He barely had time to move as she landed on the couch next to him.

“Serafina?  What is it?”  Kotori kept his face neutral, hiding the annoyance he felt at being interrupted.  Work still had to come first.

“Matteo was wondering when the next mission was.  He’s been getting bored.”  Serafina looked up at him with wide gold eyes. 

“I haven’t seen anything new,” Kotori replied.  “I’m still waiting to see what new information Dantelia has turned up on those robberies.  I think I heard recently that the Impudenza famiglia was affected, though not as much was taken as before.” 

He paused.  He’d also gotten a report saying that they’d gotten a good look at them.  One of the guards had almost caught one.  It had kept up with recent reports that they seemed to be getting cocky.  It was already a Vongola matter as it continued to affect allied families, but the latest concern was that they might try to rob them next.  There were weapons and riches the Vongola had that nobody else should have access to.

“I may have Stryx check on the Sicusso famiglia.  Decimo expressed some concern about them from his last orders.  I’d rather keep you and Matteo back.”  They’d always worked well as a team.  If the thieves’ location was found, then they may be needed. 

“Alright…”  Serafina was clearly disappointed.  She started to walk off.

“Serafina,” Kotori said.  She froze immediately. 

“What is it?”

He raised an eyebrow.  “My keys, please.”

Reluctantly, Serafina pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and tossed them to Kotori.  “I wasn’t going to do anything with them.”

“Thank you.”  Waiting til she had left, he got up and headed for the door suddenly.

“Where are you going?”  Antonio asked.

“I need to think and talk to Stryx.”  Kotori swung the keys around his finger.  “I’m going for a ride.”

~~~~~~~~~

“Woah!”  Alathea dodged the rows of teeth aimed at her. 

Turning around she was faced with opal eyes the size of plates looking into hers.  The snake-like head was only an inch in front of her.  A bone-like frill was raised and rattled. 

A scream was lodged in her throat as it lunged at her.  Her back hit the floor hard and knocked the breath out of her lungs.  The stench of corpses washed of her as one of its claws pressed down on her chest.  A cold breath ghosted across her face, fading away like mist.

Just as she opened her mouth to scream, it vanished.

“You lasted longer than last time.  Definitely room for improvement, though.  ” Arveria said.  She was walking across the ballroom towards Alathea.  Her fingers tapped on her crossed arms.  “Try not to let your emotions get the better of you.  It’s difficult, but the problem a lot of illusionists have is getting distracted or letting an emotion, like fear, get in the way.”

“I thought you said emotions are a good thing,” Alathea grimaced upon standing up.  The fall had likely bruised her back.

“Of course they are.  Mukuro and other illusionists rely heavily on their intuition to tell them what is real and what is fake.  Some of the best illusions I’ve seen and used are created by intense emotion.  But you can hurt yourself when you let them control you like that.  You need to manage them, not ignore them.  Fear acts as a warning system and can keep you alert, but you need to learn to stay calm so you can counter.”

Alathea nodded.  “But…What do you mean by intense emotion?”

There was a drawn out sigh from Arveria.  “You know that creating illusions requires a lot of concentration, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Alathea said.  She’d practiced that concentration for ages.

Arveria sat down on the floor and Alathea immediately followed her lead.  “Intense emotions also create intense concentration which can create extremely realistic illusions.  That could be an advantage, except I’ve known those same illusions to become very sporadic from that same intensity.  Have you ever felt true anger or hate?”

Alathea shook her head. 

“It’s….You become so focused on that emotion that you forget what is around you.  You forget what is important.  While it gives you powerful illusions, it leaves you open and exposed.  I do not want my students putting themselves at risk like that.”

“You’ve done that.  You’ve used your emotions like that.”  Alathea had been watching her slowly collapse in on herself through the conversation.

Arveria stood suddenly.  “I can’t say I regret letting that happen to me.  I wasn’t wrong in my anger and those may have been the most powerful illusions I ever used.  But I would never want to use them like that again.”

“What happened?” Alathea asked.

Alathea was happy to see she got a small smile from her mother.  “You’re inquisitive today, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry-“

“Don’t be.”  Arveria waved her hand gently.  “For now, let’s just say the man I used them on hasn’t quite been in his right state of mind since. Or so I’ve been told.  I refuse to see him again.  Promise me that you won’t let your emotions control you like that.”

“Yes, mom,” Alathea said.  Her eyes immediately went wide before she covered her mouth.

Arveria raised an eyebrow.  “Mom?”

“I mean…you just…”

Taking her up in a hug, Arveria smiled.  “Don’t apologize.  I feel honored.  Just don’t tell your real mom that!”

A sharp pang went through her chest.  “Don’t worry.  I was an orphan.”

“Ah,” Arveria tightened her grip.  “Now it’s my turn to apologize.  Regardless, you should be proud of how far you’ve come, even just in the little training you’ve had so far.”

“Thanks,” Alathea found a small grin had appeared on her face.  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Hmmm…  Yes.  In the mean time, I think I’m going to speak to Kotori about training with you.”

“Really?!”  Alathea tried to contain her excitement.  She shifted back and forth slightly.

“Yeah,” Arveria said.  “I think it would be good for both of you.  He needs some more experience training, after all.  But go get some rest for now.”

With a nod, Alathea headed back to her room.

Upon arrival, she promptly threw down her weapon and picked up her phone.  It took a minute, but finally someone answered.

**“Hey!  How’s my favorite girl doing?”**

“Neri, what are you doing?  I called for Ferro.”  An annoyed expression replaced her formerly happy one.  Her eyes suddenly shifted from brown to blue as her illusion dropped.  Her brown hair was let loose and immediately turned blond. 

**“Yeah, Ferro’s attending to business right now.  Alessio and Ginerva caused another fight.”**

“What was it about this time?  Alessio upset that he didn’t get the best cut at dinner?”

**“No.  They were making a fuss about you being assigned to the Vongola.  Again.  More of the usual.  Ginerva feels it would have been better for someone else to go.  She went on a rant about how you haven’t given us anymore information.  It was actually pretty funny when she dissed Scipio and he dumped his drink on her.”**

“Oh, no….”  Alathea sat on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes.  “So Ferro went to go take care of that.”

**“As best as he can.  You know they’ll never shut up.  I’m really considering purchasing duct tape next time I’m in town.  It will at least dampen the sound.  And maybe we could tie them up in their rooms.”**

“That would only make things worse.”

 **“It’s better than nothing,”** there was a shrug in his voice. **“What news did you bring this time?  Anything about that boy you keep mentioning…..Valerio?”**

“Watch out or I’m going to duct tape your mouth.  I told you, I don’t like him.”

 **“If you don’t like him, then why do you keep mentioning him?”**   Neri hummed lightly.  **_“I thought he was just one of the guardians.”_**

“Because he’s one of the few friends I’ve made out here, Neri.”  For a second Alathea considered hanging up on him.  “And besides, he-“

There was a gasp on the other end.  **“You’re not trying to replace me, are you?”**

“I am not trying to replace you.”  Rubbing her temple, she laid back.  “He’s just another friend.  And there is no news.  Just that I might get some training from the Varia boss.”

**“The Varia boss?  What did you do this time?”**

“I didn’t do anything!  Just tell Ferro that I still haven’t found anything.”

**“Whatever you say, your majesty.”**

Rolling her eyes, Alathea hung up.  She stared at the screen on her phone.  More fights breaking out back home.  Great.  That meant it was make or break time for her mission. 

On one hand, she could take some drastic actions where she’d have to flee afterwards.  On the other, she could wait it out another week and hopefully get what she came for.

“But if I get to train with Kotori,” she mused quietly.  The Varia would likely have what she was looking for.  She’d make a decision on what to do after meeting with him.


End file.
